(a) Permit Required.
(1) Unless otherwise exempted, it shall be unlawful for any person to collocate or remove a small cell facility or construct, maintain, modify, operate, replace, or remove wireless support structures in, along, across, upon, and/or under the right-of-way unless a permit has been issued by the Director of Public Service.
(2) Pursuant to Ohio R.C. 4939.0311(C), a cable or video service provider shall not be required to obtain permits from the City or to pay fees, with the exception of work permits and associated fees, to place, operate, maintain, or replace micro wireless facilities pursuant to an existing franchise or video service authorization under Ohio R.C. Chapter 1332; nor shall a holder of an existing franchise or video service authorization be required to obtain additional authorizations or to pay additional fees for the placement of micro wireless facilities already covered under an existing franchise or video service authorization under Ohio R.C. Chapter 1332.
(b) Application Requirements. This section specifies the necessary requirements for a complete Certificate of Registration for Small Cell application. A complete Registration for Small Cell application shall consist of the following:
(1) Application Fee. The applicant must provide the applicable permit application fee in the amount currently required by the Director of Public Service and listed in its permit fee schedule.
(2) Owner's Authorization. Applicants must submit evidence sufficient to show that either:
A. The applicant owns the proposed support structure; or
B. The applicant has obtained the owner's authorization to file the application.
(3) Site Plans and Structural Calculations. The applicant must submit fully dimensioned site plans, elevation drawings and structural calculations prepared, sealed, stamped and signed by a professional engineer licensed and registered by the State of Ohio. Drawings must depict any existing wireless facilities with all existing wireless communications equipment and other improvements, the proposed facility with all proposed wireless communications equipment and other improvements and the legal boundaries of the leased or owned area surrounding the proposed facility and any associated access or utility easements.
(4) Equipment and Enclosure Specifications. The applicant shall provide dimensioned elevations, cut sheets, material samples or other construction documents necessary to evaluate for compliance with this chapter.
(c) Application Type.
(1) Each Certificate of Registration for Small Cell shall be classified as one of three types. The three types of applications are:
A. 1. Small Cell Minor. An application that:
2. Involves removal or replacement of small cell facilities and any associated equipment on an existing wireless support; and such removal or replacement does not constitute a substantial change.
B. Small Cell Substantial. An application that:
1. Involves the installation of a new small cell facility on a wireless support structure; or
2. Involves the removal or replacement of a small cell facility on an existing wireless support structure and such removal or replacement constitutes a substantial change.
C. Wireless Support Structure. An application for a proposal to construct, modify or replace a wireless support structure in the right-of-way.
(2) Applications seeking to collocate a small cell facility to a wireless support structure owned by the City and located within the City right-of-way shall also be required to obtain an Attachment Certificate and shall be subject to an attachment fee in an amount set by the City's Fee Schedule.
(3) Pursuant to Ohio R. C. 4939.0312(A) the City shall permit a person seeking to construct, modify, collocate, or replace more than one small cell facility or more than one wireless support structure within the jurisdiction of a single municipal corporation to file, at the person's discretion, a consolidated application for consent for up to 30 small cell facilities requests in a single application or up to 30 wireless support structure requests in a single application and receive a single permit for the construction, modification, collocation, or replacement of the small cell facilities or wireless support structures. However, this single application may only address multiple small cell facilities or multiple wireless support structures if they each involve substantially the same type of small cell facilities or substantially the same type of wireless support structures. The City may separately address small cell facility collocations or wireless support structures for which incomplete information has been received or which are denied. In the case of a consolidated application, the applicable fees shall be cumulative. In the case of a consolidated application, each small cell facility or wireless support structure proposed to be constructed, modified, collocated on, or replaced shall constitute a separate request for consent for purposes of tolling the response deadline.
(d) Decisions.
(1) The Director of Public Service shall review the Certificate of Registration for Small Cell application for conformance with the standards of this chapter and shall either:
A. Approve, approve with conditions, or deny a small cell minor application;
B. Grant or deny consent for small cell substantial and wireless structure applications.
(2) If a request is denied, the reasons for denial shall be provided in writing to the applicant.
(3) The City reserves the right to deny an application if any one of the following conditions exist:
A. The application does not comply with a provision of this Chapter or a provision of the City's codified ordinances;
B. The applicant is not authorized to conduct business in the State of Ohio;
C. The applicant is not current in its obligation to pay to the City fees or taxes imposed by this Chapter;
D. The design or location is deemed unsafe or non-compliant in regards to transportation and engineering standards for construction within the right-of-way;
E. The design is counter to the health, safety, and welfare of the City;
F. The design or location is in conflict with current or proposed accessibility standards;
G. The design does not meet standards related to electrical, structural, safety or construction best practices.
H. The proposed design is in conflict with existing infrastructure, facilities, and/or utilities.
(4) Except as allowed in subsection (5) below, applications shall be reviewed and a decision rendered according to subsection (d) of this section, within the following time periods:
A. Small Cell Minor. Small cell minor applications shall be rendered within 60 days of the date of filing.
B. Small Cell Substantial. Small cell substantial applications shall be rendered within 90 days of the date of filing.
C. Wireless Support Structure. Wireless support structure applications shall be rendered within 120 days of the date of filing.
(5) The time period required in subsection (4)B. above, and to the extend permitted by applicable State and federal law, the time period required in subsection (4)A. and C. may be tolled only:
A. By mutual agreement between the applicant and the City;
B. If the application is determined to be incomplete; or
C. The number of applications exceeds the City's capacity to process them in a timely manner. If such number of applications exceeds capacity then the following tolling time periods may be instituted:
1. The time period may initially be tolled for up to 21 days when the number of applications received within any consecutive 30 day period exceeds 15 applications;
2. For every additional 15 applications that the City receives above the 15 applications stated in subsection C.1. above the time period may be tolled an additional 15 days.
D. However, in no instance shall the time tolled exceed 90 consecutive days.
(6) To toll the time period for incompleteness, the City shall provide the applicant notice within 30 days of the date of filing. Such notice shall include a listing of the missing documents and/or information. The time period resumes once the applicant submits a response. If an application is still incomplete, the City shall notify the applicant within ten days of the response.
(7) If multiple applications are received by the City to install two or more wireless support structures that would violate the spacing requirements of Section 1032.05(b)(2)B., Design and Siting Requirements, or to collocate two or more small cell facilities on the same wireless support structure, the City shall process and render a decision in the order they are received.
(8) In the event that an application is received by the City to install a wireless support structure or small cell facility in a location in common with another application for a facility in the ROW, preference shall be granted in the following order of service provided:
A. Municipal infrastructure.
B. Water.
C. Electricity.
D. Gas.
E. Landline telephone.
F. Wireless service.
(e) Amendments. Amendments to an application in process which are not part of a response to a notice of incompleteness or a correction notice shall be treated as a new application.
(f) Issuance of Permit and Attachment Certificates.
(1) When an Certificate of Registration for Small Cell application is approved or granted consent, and applicable permit fee paid, a permit shall be issued to the applicant authorizing the following:
A. Small Cell Work Permit. A permit to perform the approved action, removal, replacement, or maintenance work, subject to any conditions;
B. Small Cell Collocation Consent. Consent to perform the approved removal, replacement, or installation, and grant occupancy within the City right-of-way, subject to any permits or conditions;
C. Wireless Support Structure. Consent to construct, modify or replace a wireless support structure in the right-of-way, subject to any permits or conditions.
(2) When an application seeking collocation of a small cell facility to a wireless support structure owned by the City and located within the City right-of-way is approved, and applicable permit fee paid, an Attachment Certificate authorizing such attachment, subject to any conditions shall be issued.
(g) Scope of Approval.
(1) No permit or certificate authorized by this chapter shall be transferrable.
(2) No permit or certificate authorized by this chapter shall convey title, equitable or legal, in the right-of-way.
(h) Duration of Approval.
(1) The work authorized by the permit issued must be completed within 180 days from the date of issuance, unless otherwise conditioned as part of the approval.
(2) An Attachment Certificate is valid for ten years from the date of issuance and may be renewed by the applicant in successive five year terms. Any request for renewal is subject to approval by the Director of Public Service and may be denied for cause.
(3) In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction invalidates any portion of federal law which mandates approval of any permit, such permit shall automatically expire one year from the date of the judicial order.
(4) In the event that any court of competent jurisdiction invalidates any portion of state law which mandates approval of any permit shall automatically expire 60 days from the date of the judicial order.
(i) Revocation. The following are grounds for revocation or denial of approval:
(1) The intentional provision of materially misleading information by the applicant (the provision of information is considered "intentional" where the applicant was aware of the inaccuracies or could have discovered the inaccuracies with reasonable diligence);
(2) The failure to comply with any condition of approval, order, or other applicable law, rule, or regulation;
(3) The site, structure or operation is otherwise not in compliance with any other provision(s) of applicable law;
(4) The subject site or use is otherwise not in compliance due to incomplete work or projects, or is not in compliance due to unperformed or slow to perform work as part of an open permit.
(j) Appeals.
(1) The Director of Public Service's decision to deny a Permit may be appealed to the City Manager. All appeals on a denial of a Permit must be made in writing within ten calendar days from the date of the action being appealed. If the Director of Public Service issues a denial of a Permit, the Director of Public Service shall notify the applicant in writing of the denial, suspension or revocation, including the grounds therefor, within three business days of such decision. If a notice of appeal is timely received by the City Manager, the City Manager shall notify the respondent within three business days of the receipt of the request for appeal of a hearing date to be within 21 days. The respondent may appear and be heard in person, or by his or her attorney, in opposition to the decision and do any of the following:
A. Present his or her positions, arguments and contentions;
B. Offer and examine witnesses and present evidence in support;
C. Cross-examine witnesses purporting to refute respondent's position, arguments and contentions;
D. Offer evidence to refute evidence and testimony offered in opposition to his or her position, arguments and contentions; and
E. Offer any such evidence into the record.
(2) The City Manager shall render a decision within five business days after the hearing.
(Ord. 18-15. Passed 7-16-18.)